5 Last-Minute Thanksgiving Table Decorations

November 19, 2012

Thanksgiving is a week away and the last minute preparations are coming together, but what have you forgotten? Turkey: check. Cranberry sauce: check. Macaroni and cheese: check. The table: ?? Uh oh. You forgot to plan your table settings for the big day! Have no fear, the Townelaker is here! We’ve pulled together a menagerie of our top 5 quick and easy solutions to make your last-minute table settings look like they were months in the making.

When it comes to crafts, Martha Stewart knows what she’s doing. That’s why we’ve put her leaf shaped felt trivets in our #1 spot. All you need are some squares of felt that match your color scheme. Trace a leaf shape and get to scissor snipping and you have brought the beauty of the fall foliage right to your table.

Love the leaf theme? Use this idea to mark your place settings (since you’ve got to be sure Granny doesn’t sit too close to the punch bowl). All you need are a few red or yellow leaves picked off of the trees in your yard and a white or silver marker pen. Just write the persons name on the leaf and leave it on their plate. If you want to make these last more than one season, you can also use store bought leaves from your nearest craft supply.

Thanksgiving is all about the harvest so for your centerpiece use your left over baby pumpkins from Halloween and add them to some berries and attractive leave stems you can harvest from right around your home. Put your clippings in an old mason jar and tie a ribbon around the mouth. Your arrangement will look just like it came from one of these ideas.

Protect your expensive tablecloth with this cheap solution. Cut out rectangles of burlap and stencil words on them to use as placemats. This example uses generic food words but be creative and think of words of the season like pumpkin or thanks or use words specific to your family such as your last name.

This one is for the kids (other than your husband). We got our inspiration from this table by the Frog Prince Paperie. Use brown paper instead of a cloth tablecloth and provide colored pencils or crayons to keep the kids occupied while the adults linger over dinner. Make sure you use a clear shower curtain liner on the floor underneath their tables and chairs to catch any pumpkin pie crumbles. To make cleanup a true breeze, get plastic ware and paper plates for this table (we promise, they will never know).

So stress down, when it comes to great table decorations for next week, the Townelaker has got you covered. We wish you and your family a warm Thanksgiving – and we give you thanks for reading.